Rad Lowering, Itb's, And Rain?

[BlueBolt 156]

This is for all of you that have been lowering your rads and have ITB's or carbs...

Either using Tom's bracket or but cutting out the required part bellow the rad and doing it that way.

 

How do you go about protecting your ITB's/carbs filter so they're not sucking in loads of water??

 

I've seen a few lovely installs and some that have clearly had some attention to detail put into them so they're clean and tidy and highly effective at reducing the warm air being put into the filters, but the rain factor is still puzzling me.

 

Or is it as simple as "don't drive it in the rain!!"

[dcc 855]

you dont really...

 

I ran without filter for about 6 months. no issues with having a shorter racing radiator. this was through winter periods too.

[harryskid 193]

I have done quite a few wet rallys with mine and no problems with tbs . We have hit standing water at speeds close to100mph and in one case over that as Colin 141 will confirm, staying on the road was more problematic

[BlueBolt 156]

lmao

 

Surely as a daily driver this is something I'm going to want to avoid more?? With a dropped rad anyway???

[dcc 855]

Well common sense says yes, but as I tried my best to kill my engine so I could fit my rebuilt lump, there was nothing wrong with it after over 6 months...

[Baz 421]

There is other ways to drop the rad!

 

Run a filter, sorted.

[BlueBolt 156]

There is other ways to drop the rad!

 

Run a filter, sorted.

 

Indeed, as I've been reading a few places...

 

The general aim of the thread was to ask if water was likely to be gettin down the trumpets with the filter on and heavy rain??

Having flipped a car in the rain in my first year of driving I now take it very easy in the wet, but even so, water will still get to the filter which in turn will surely get down the trumpets won't it??? I'm not wanting to be wrecking my engine... Don't have the luxury of a rebuilt lump to be putting in lol

[engine killer 6]

Rain storm can be very nasty on this side of planet, but I still do not have any issue (touch wood) having my car running in the rain at speed all although I have a ducting facing to it.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

If your that worried you could perhaps spray your filter with some motocross filter oil. It's sticky horrible s*it but it does a good job of repelling water, you'd have to clean it a lot more often though.

[rallyeash 155]

I've never had a problem with itbs, a itg filter and rain.

 

IMO your flapping over nothing.

[BlueBolt 156]

Excellent. This weekend begins the research for dropping the rad then!! (without having to tilt it too much)

Thank you all for your feedback

[harryskid 193]

Of course if you go cutting big holes as some do on the front of the bonnet then you will get problems!

[BlueBolt 156]

Haha yea I guess I would do!!

 

The intention is to drop the rad by a few cm's just to get a nice fresh flow of air to the filter. I'm not one for not using a filter, especially once the rad has lowered.

 

The use of a heavy oil, would that not eventually have the oil getting through the filter and same problem I'm asking about here??

 

I guess with all the feedback so far, if I'm unsure about anything then I can just keep an eye on what's happening.

 

[chipstick 382 1 Cars]

I'm interested to hear the various options for dropping the rad. I noticed in a previous thread that Miles does it a particular way, but the picture was on facebook - which I don't have access to.

[Baz 421]

I've just made simple little brackets that bolt to the lower cross member & use the rubber grommets from the rad cowling to drop the rad feet into, a plate/bracket to drop the water hose a little & some top support brackets, if needed.

 

They're a little lower than they have to be in this one tbh;

 

 

 

 

Filters are lightly oiled anyway, you'd really have to be going some to jet water through them, to the point of annihilating the filter material IMO.

[base-1 17]

I daily'd my Mi on carbs for about 2 years with no filters, no problems as a result. I don't run filters on the MX5 bodies either, that's another 2 years of daily use

[kyepan 291]

what is the mx-5 on bodies like? *wibble

[Anthony 1,003]

I don't run filters on the MX5 bodies either, that's another 2 years of daily use

Off on somewhat of a tangent here Rich, but what sort of improvements did you notice with ITB's on the MX-5?

 

No experience with them, but everything I've read suggests that the B6 series engines don't respond well to ITB's and there's little gains to be had - besides glorious induction hammer one assume - and hence why forced induction is so popular. Always seemed a shame, because NA with ITB's always sounded ideal for a '5 in theory

 

Ha - I see Justin's beaten me to it

Edited August 10, 2012 by Anthony

[welshpug 1,661]

ask John Read

[rallyeash 155]

This is how I did it..... Renault 5 Rad which is 50mm thick but half as wide so allowed me to run my oil cooler along side

 

 

 

 

[BlueBolt 156]

This is how I did it..... Renault 5 Rad which is 50mm thick but half as wide so allowed me to run my oil cooler along side

 

That's a different approach!! Quite a nice and tidy install too!! What length/size are those trumpets?? They look massive!!! (tangent, sorry)

 

 

Baz, I'm liking that too!! Have you got any pics of the plate you've made up to allow the movement of the water pipes??

 

[chipstick 382 1 Cars]

Blue bolt, with regards to the water pipe I imagine it's just a case of having the metal water pipe lean down at an angle for the 90 degree hose to be at a lower point.

 

My initial thought was a strap similar to what you get in a mocal oil cooler kit with various holes in to allow you to adjust the length.

 

 

I have some of these lying about, so will use a couple of those temporarily.

 

 

[stu8v 68 1 Cars]

I'm interested to hear the various options for dropping the rad. I noticed in a previous thread that Miles does it a particular way, but the picture was on facebook - which I don't have access to.

 

 

[chipstick 382 1 Cars]

I just nipped to an engineering place this morning for some offcuts and in a moment of madness asked for 6mm thick.

 

They bent to 90 degrees and nipped it in half for me so I could cut each end to the correct length myself.

 

 

Half the thickness would have probably sufficed as they immensly overkill, but will see how I get on trying to make them work for my application.

[welshpug 1,661]

either you have a very small wheelie bin or those "offcuts" are bloody huge!